Deep Under
by xLordoftheRingsx
Summary: It started as a simple midnight getaway, a short walk in the woods, that's all. I never planned for anything else to happen. I never intended to be chased down by some "nightmare", neither did I plan to fall out of a tree because of that. I never planned to meet the so-called Guardians, or get involved in a battle in which only good or evil can win.


Deep Under

Chapter One: The Midnight Meeting

The moon was shining bright that night, a large circle of light that stood out from the rest of the plain black sky. I sat up on my bed, which was right beside my large window, and laid my arms down against the cold metal frame, resting my head on them, and then looking up into the sky. "It's so beautiful…so peaceful…..." I whispered, continuing to stare. I then glanced at my wrist, and squinted, struggling to see the time which the small screen on my watch was trying to show. I gave up and placed my other hand on the watch, feeling around the sides for the necessary button. Finally finding it, I pressed down and immediately the dark screen was replaced with an eerie green glow. **11:43 P.M.**, the watch read.

A mischievous smile spread across my face, since I knew it was almost time to leave. I crawled out of my bed, my sheets and blankets disorganized and sprawled all over the mattress. I carefully placed my foot onto the ground, it beginning to grow numb from the cold of the floor already. I cringed, but I continued off of my bed ever so slowly, so that I made no noise. I turned around, pulled out a fat and long pillow from under my bed, and silently placed it onto the bed, covering it up with the sheets and blankets, patting it down in some places to make it seem believable that a person was laying there.

After I finished setting up my bed and pillow, I tiptoed over to the closet, and pried it open, blindly searching through it until I finally managed to find a suitable outfit; my favorite pair of dark jeans, a loose black t-shirt, and my most cherished icy blue hoodie. I slipped out of my pajama shorts and shirt, and quickly slipped on my jeans and t-shirt, and then pulled my hoodie over my head. I brushed my light brown hair out as best as I could have in the dark, then crept out of my room, slowly opening the door, slinking through the opening, then just as carefully closing it again. I then looked down the hall, checking for any open doors, and family members, then with no sight of anyone or anything unusual, I walked down the hall quietly. I passed by my parent's room, my brother's room, and the closet. Seeing that all doors to all rooms were shut, and no lights were seen illuminating in them, I smiled and then turned the corner, creeping down the stairs. After reaching the bottom, I pulled on my shoes and risked running to the living room, the largest room and the only one in the very center of the house, just so I was able to check if no one was there. I slunk into the room, the carpet cushioning my footsteps. It was dark and quiet, showing no signs of any person being there. The moonlight crept through the shades, and I was able to see glimpses of the living room here and there. I smiled, nodded to myself, and turned around towards the door, and was just about to walk away when, from the corner of my eye, I saw a black shadow dash across the room.

I spun back around, my eyes wide and I slowly began to step back, my heart beginning to race with panic. I pressed myself against a nearby wall and paused, listening.

Watching.

_C'mon Casey, there was nothing there. Absolutely NOTHING. Gosh, stop worrying and just go!_ I thought to myself, and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to reassure myself. _Nothing there…..nothing there…..just my eyes playing tricks on me…that's all…_I repeatedly thought, and I turned once more, and began to head towards the door. I stared ahead, not daring to look to the side or behind me. I was just about to reach for the doorknob when another dark figure passed right in front of me. I caught myself from screaming, slapping a hand to my mouth, and just stood there, glaring at the space in front of me where the shadow had passed, and then glanced up at door handle. I took a deep breath, and made my first move, I stepped forward quickly and pulled the door wide open, slipping through and turning around, backing out of the house, when my eyes met another pair of eyes.

Yellow, glowing eyes.

My mouth gaped open, for the eyes I was staring at belonged to a horse, a black horse whose body seemed to slightly reflect the light of the moon peeping in through the windows, as if it was made of sand. I let out a gasp and quickly stepped out of the house, slamming the door shut, not caring it anyone heard anymore, and then spinning around in the opposite direction and making a run for it. _What in the WORLD was that? I-It was made of sand…..well, it seemed like it was. And the EYES. Its EYES, they GLOWED. They were YELLOW. What kind of creature was that?! _I asked myself continuously as I ran, looking around and realizing I was on a block that was three down from mine. I stopped and looked behind me, and shrieked. I saw that familiar pair of yellow eyes, and they were focused right on me. I jumped with fright and began to run, not even caring that my lungs were beginning to beg for air. I kept on running, not stopping, until I came to the last block of my street. My eyes darted around, looking for a place to run, and they settled onto a sign the read:

**Winter Lake Woods**

**Open from: **

**Monday-Friday: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.**

**Saturday and Sunday: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.**

**CLOSED**

I stared at the sign, and began to run towards the entryway to the woods, ignoring the wire that was stationed in front of the entrance to keep people from going in and the word 'Closed' written in bold red right on the bottom of the old wooden sign. I took a quick peek down the street to see the horse galloping at a rapid speed, seeing it was getting even closer to me by the minute. I gained speed and jumped over the wire, dashing into the woods, and down the gravel path, which I knew well thanks to previous visits to the woods. I continued to run, the gravel crunching, twigs snapping, and the undergrowth being flattened to the ground with a sigh as I ran. I took a sharp turn to the right, steering myself off of the path. Either way I knew this terrain, my footsteps being cushioned by the damp leaves as I continued to run, slapping away the branches of the large trees as they hitched onto my hood and hair. After at least five minutes, I stopped and looked up to see a great wide tree with many branches extending from it standing right before me.

It was _my_ tree, the one I always climbed and explored in the warmer days. I faintly smiled and ran over to it, grabbing at the branches and clumsily beginning to push myself upward, climbing higher and deeper into the tree. I looked down and saw that I was a great distance away from the ground, and I stopped, hugging the trunk of the tree and slowly sliding down and nestling on a thick branch. I stared down at the forest floor the whole time, watching for that strange horse. After what felt like ages of waiting and watching and no sight of the horse, I sighed with relief and relaxed, finally realizing how tired I really was. My legs and arms were sore from running and climbing, my breaths ragged and short. I then closed my eyes and thought. _This whole evening I just wanted to escape my life, go for a small midnight walk in the woods for an hour or two. And now look, I'm in the woods, that's a check, except I'm running from some creature that resembles a horse. That's nice, plans officially ruined. Might as well go home._ I furrowed my eyebrows at the thought. I don't think I _could_ go home, especially with that thing out there. I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. How _stupid_ was I to run into the woods, rather than to the police station, or at least another house? Now, I'm stuck in a tree, in a place where no one is at this hour. I'm stuck in a place where no one can hear my cries and screams if something was to happen. I widened my eyes at that last thought. That strange, random thought, it didn't even seem like my own. Because now my heart was racing, I was growing scared, as reality began to kick in. _That…that thing could hurt me….it might even kill me….heck, I don't KNOW what its capable of…._ I thought to myself, and hesitantly glanced down at the ground beneath.

And nearly toppled off my branch.

The horse had found me. It was on the ground underneath the tree, and just like at the street, its eyes were focused right on me. Those evil, yellow eyes glared at my hungrily. What is was hungry for I already knew, and the two of us just stared at one another. The tension grew, and I didn't dare break eye contact with the creature, along with move, not knowing, not _wanting _to know, what could happen if I did either. Only two minutes had passed when suddenly the horse snorted, and rode off, a faint black trail of some kind of dust or sand being left behind as it galloped away. I relaxed my tensed muscles and leaned back against the trunk of the tree again. I sighed, and after some time, considered descending from the tree. I swung my legs over the side, and looked down, my eyes darting to the sides, trying to figure out a way to climb down using the many branches around me.

There was a snap of a branch. A branch from _my_ tree. I twisted my head to the side and it bumped against the head of an animal. I let out a scream and jumped down, grabbing onto a branch close to mine, and crawling onto it, catching a glimpse of the eyes again as the horse disappeared once more. I groaned as I struggled to hold on to the branch. _Crud. Out of all the branches I saw, I chose the thinnest one. Way to go!_ I thought, and mentally scolded myself. I stared down at the forest floor, seeing that it was still a great distance away. I began to look about, and spotted a thick branch ahead of me. I slowly extended a hand and tried to grab it, but missed. My weight shifted forward and the branch groaned as it bent forward. I struggled to push myself to the back of the branch, but it was too late. The branch broke with a loud snap and I was airborne, gaining speed as I dropped, the ground approaching quicker every second.

I shut my eyes tight and prepared for the impact that was to come. I slammed onto the ground, and my eyes popped wide open. A shattering and burning pain began to spread through my body. I was numb to every part of my body, and with all my remaining strength, I turned onto my back, groaning and crying out in pain at the same time. I flattened myself out onto the ground, the pain growing worse every second until it was unbearable. I looked up at the moon, which was still shining bright in the night sky. I pursed my lips and wished the pain would go away, even if I knew it wouldn't.

"H-Help….." I tried to yell, though my voice came out quiet and hoarse. My vision began to blur and fade to darkness, and I felt my eyelids beginning to close. I didn't bother to stop them, I knew there was no hope.

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted. How, I didn't know. I only felt that my legs and arms were dangling at my sides, I wasn't in contact with the ground. I struggled to open my eyes, but they remained shut. I finally couldn't fight the pain, and I allowed myself to go, to fade, but a distant voice made me stop.

"Hey, stay with me….c'mon kiddo, just a little while more." I didn't recognize the voice, but I strained to hear what it was saying. It was a deep, soothing voice, yet it had a mischievous ring to it. I suddenly felt safe, knowing that there was a person here with me, that I wasn't alone with that creature. I felt reassured. I wished the feeling of safety had stayed longer, but my pain won over, and I felt myself begin to fade, giving in to the darkness that was surrounding me. I hoped that whoever was holding me or carrying me would know there was no point in continuing, or having any more hope with me. I used all my final strength to open my eyes, and I caught a small glimpse of the person who was carrying me. It was a boy, looking around the age of seventeen or eighteen. He had icy blue eyes and messy snow white hair, along with pale skin and flawless features. He had the look of someone who causes much mischief, but seemed to have a sweet and passionate side as well. As I stared at him, straining my eyes to see his face, I saw the boy turn his head to look down at me and smile softly, his eyes staring into my own. I managed a faint smile, and let my eyes close for what seemed to be the last time.


End file.
